Cliff Notes – Enzo Maresca: Liam Delap ‘available’ but Chelsea need to ‘be careful’
- Liam Delap is set to return for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup against Wolves after recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in August.
- Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed Delap has completed training but will be gradually reintroduced, likely not playing a full 90 minutes.
- Maresca emphasised the need for squad rotation to protect players and maintain performance levels throughout the season.
Enzo Maresca: Liam Delap ‘available’ but Chelsea need to ‘be careful’
Liam Delap to return for Chelsea after injury Michael Regan.
Liam Delap is set to return for Chelsea on Wednesday against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Delap, a big-money summer signing from relegated Ipswich, has been out of action since the end of August with a hamstring problem.
He returned to training last week and should be back in the squad at Molineux.
“Liam completed the whole session with us yesterday with no problems and he is available for tomorrow,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said.
“We have to be careful with Liam and [it is unlikely he will play] 90 minutes, no. He has been out for two months, so he needs to be gradually brought back up to 100 per cent.”
Maresca admitted he must continue to “protect players” if they are to remain battling on all fronts this season.
The Blues head to Wolves in the Carabao Cup fourth round looking to produce a response after their winning run was ended by a last-gasp Premier League defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca, though, feels he has little option other than to utilise the squad.
“We need to rotate. We need to protect the players because if we go with the same XI, we are going to struggle during the season,” Maresca said.
“We probably will make some changes against Wolves, I don’t know how many, but we will make changes.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be nine or 10 like it was from [Nottingham] Forest to Ajax [in the Champions League], but for sure, we need to make some to rotate and help protect the players.
“There are players that need to be protected for many reasons, so tomorrow we will see. Enzo [Fernández], Moi [Caicedo], João(Pedro) — they are all players, for different reasons, we need to protect them.”
Wolves vs Chelsea: Kick-off time, how to watch Carabao Cup tie, stats, team news
Despite the disappointment of Saturday’s loss to an injury-time goal from Sunderland substitute Chemsdine Talbi, Maresca feels his squad are heading in the right direction. They impressed in the win over Liverpool and a young side thrashed Ajax 5-1 in the Champions League.
“You need consistency if you want to have a good season. After four wins in a row, unfortunately we dropped points against Sunderland, but now we move on and we focus on tomorrow’s game,” Maresca said.
“Chelsea has to try to win games and to try to win competitions, so for me personally, all the competitions are important.”